Listing on Internet

[John Musselwhite]

>On Mon, 17 Apr 1995 drose@microcity.com wrote:
>>
>> I feel very strongly that as much information be made available to the
>> public as possible. I would like to see the list sorted by
>> State/Province, area code, last name, first name, address, and telephone
>> number(s).
[...]
>a computer/modem/software that's been netsurfing... I suspect that posting
>a full listing of RPT's and their phone numbers on the 'net is liable to

I don't think a complete member list is necessary _at all_. If people wish
to publish their email addresses that is one thing, but for the most part
net surfers aren't going to be interested in actually finding a piano tech
in their area as that is what phone books are for. Most of the people who
are going to access the page will be interested in the instrument itself and
how they should look after it (including calling a registered craftsman
regularly) as well as its history and technology. I'd sooner see more
pictures (and sounds) of historical instruments than a boring list taking up
140K of valuable space and time for a couple of hundred bytes of information.

>phone queries about piano prices or do-it-yourself projects (anyone been
>reading rec.music.makers.piano lately?) from netsurfers who found their
>phone number on the 'net...

Since there is practically no possibility of profit or real benefit to
having such a list up I don't feel it's of much benefit to members in
general. On the other hand, photos and text which might enhance a piano
owner's respect and interest in their instrument will benefit us all in the
long run and is more in accordance with the "Mission Statement" of the PTG.
I'm sure support for the project will be more substantial if it can be shown
to fulfill the mission statement exactly and at reasonable cost. The ENTIRE
cost to the PTG to support a World Wide Web presence is less than the cost
of a full-page ad in our local Music Festival program. We can't get a better
return for the entire guild and the world piano community on our dollar than
that in my opinion.

Here are some of my suggestions as an alternative:

- Pictures, sounds and a mechanical drawing of Cristofori's 1720 piano
- Pictures of famous pianos such as Edison's or Gershwin's and Liberace's.
- Pictures showing the evolution of the piano
- a tour of the PTG Museum including pics of the Golden Hammer awards
- Sound clips comparing different sizes of pianos with photos
- MPEG movies of slow-motion mechanical movements
- Pictures of unusual instruments such as giraffes
- A player and reproducing piano section
- Something to emphasize the advantages of pianos over electronics.

Some of these will require permission from the copyright holders, but in the
long run (and this project will be going on forever) it's not an
insurmountable problem. I'm sure many people will donate copies of their own
materials if credit is given.

I think what the page should do is cultivate awareness in the instrument
itself. Do that and the rest should look after itself no matter what part of
the world the page is accessed from. If  individual chapters want to
participate by maintaining a web page with member lists on the net it should
be up to them as it will be the chapters who ultimately benefit from it, not
the general public.

Just my two cents worth (slightly higher in Canada)...

                John
John Musselwhite, RPT               Calgary, Alberta Canada
musselj@cadvision.com       john.musselwhite@67.cambo.cuug.ab.ca